Spray devices for the application of liquids onto human skin and hair are well known. Sprays are used for many types of medicines, skin treatments, hair treatments, deodorants, lotions, and cosmetic agents. Specialized automated spray systems are used in tanning salons and spa treatment centers to apply sunless tanning compounds and skin care formulas, such as moisturizers, anti-aging treatments, and exfoliants. The spray solution used for sunless tanning is generally a water-based mixture of DHA (dihydroxyacetone) and/or erythrulose and various other skin care ingredients such as aloe vera. Often a cosmetic bronzer is added along with pleasant scents and ingredients to enhance tanning performance, such as formulations to balance skin ph. For best results, the spraying of the solution utilizes a finely atomized spray (mist), as opposed to the use of a spray stream or large spray droplets, because the mist of solution provides for even coverage and reduces the risk of streaking or running of the spray deposit.
The skin treatment spray process has inherently been a cold, uncomfortable experience for the recipient as nozzle expansion effects significantly cool the air and liquid in the spray cloud during application to the skin. Furthermore, cold skin is known to inhibit optimum coverage and performance of the skin care ingredients. Temperatures of the spray cloud can be over 30° F. lower than human body temperature and significantly cooler than ambient temperature (of the liquid or the air emitted from the sprayer).
In salons, customers disrobe for the spray treatment which lasts from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. Some treatments involve sequential spray regimens of alternate ingredients so the experience can be significantly longer. Thus, the length of time the customer is exposed to cold can be significant and may discourage the customer from obtaining the treatment in the first place or returning for an additional treatment at a later date.
Moreover, “goose bumps” or “chill bumps” may form on the skin as an involuntary pilomotor reflex reacting to receiving a cold spray. Applying a spray tanning treatment to skin with chill bumps often produces a poor result. One reason for the poor result is an uneven formation of the chill bumps on certain parts of the body but not on others. For example, chill bumps are more likely to form on a subject's forearm than underneath the arm. Also, chill bumps are more pronounced on a subject's chest than on the subject's stomach; they are also more pronounced on a subject's thighs than on the calves. The resulting tan will be different when a spray tan is applied to a body part with chill bumps than will result when applied to a body part without chill bumps. Often, the resulting tan may have an initial uneven tan color and uneven fading of the tan. The chill bumps may also contribute to increased beading, which is the formation of collected and coalesced droplets of spray tanning solution on the skin and hairs. This beading may cause undesirable “freckling” effects.
A need exists in the art to address the foregoing issues in connection with providing a better skin treatment spray experience and result for the consumer.
Reference is made to Thomason, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0279865 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference), which teaches a fluid spraying system including a mobile cart that is in fluid communication with a hand held sprayer.
Reference is further made to Venuto, U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,208 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) which teaches a tanning spray booth implementation with a nozzle operable to both spray tanning solution and deliver drying air when not spraying.
Reference is also made to Cooper et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0133004 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) which teaches a gantry-type system for spraying a skin treatment solution and a separate heated air stream.
Reference is also made to Cooper et al., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0137268 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) which teaches a hand held skin treatment solution sprayer including a heating element and an supplemental air port.
Reference is also made to Cooper et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/160,698 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) which teaches a hand held skin treatment solution sprayer having a heating element that heats air emitted in the skin treatment solution spray.
Reference is also made to Pereira et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,915 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) which teaches an oil-in-water emulsifier composition and associated emulsifying waxes, oil-in-water emulsions, and microemulsions that may be used in cosmetic formulations to enhance emulsion stability and oil release.